Veterans Village: "If you don’t stretch outside your comfort zone to talk with other people than you will never know the struggle that anyone else is going through"

from NiW

        

    “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  -  Maya Angelou. 

My first-time doing veterans village I did not know what to expect but I was excited. I have worked with veterans before, so I wasn’t too nervous. In my experience I brought 2 trays of macaroni and stood outside the door way and welcomed the veterans into the room where the food was served. I enjoyed this experience and even met a man that shared a common interest as myself. One man walked in with a browning shirt on which I noticed, because I have several myself. I asked if he was a hunter, and as it turns out we actually have hunted the same public property that is located on the side of lake talquin. It was a great experience and I hope to have made the day better for the men that I saw and spoke too.

            From growing up in a catholic school throughout my entire life, I have tried to live by a few core values that I set for myself back in early high school. These core values are Selfless Love, Commitment to Excellence, Personal Integrity and commitment to service. I know that I have not lived perfectly by these values, but I try my best to do what I can, when I can. This experience with the veterans made me feel as I am still living by the guidelines, I set for myself and made me feel like I can still make a difference in lives other than my own.

            I believe that other people should start contributing to the lives other than their own to give themselves a greater picture about life. I believe that if you just live your life hanging out with the same group of people you don’t feel for the homeless or the groups of people that are less fortunate. If you don’t stretch outside your comfort zone to talk with other people than you will never know the struggle that anyone else is going through and I believe that can cause people to become selfish. I don’t judge people that don’t reach out cause I know I haven’t done near as much as I could have, but I am proud of the little that I have done.